Primus brings Willy Wonka to Rose Music Center

By Rusty Pate

Photo: Primus brings their Primus and the Chocolate Factory tour to Rose Music Center on August 4

Fans of Primus have come to expect weird and strange offerings from the group. Songs such as “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” and albums like Sailing the Seas of Cheese show a band that seems to not take itself too seriously. However, under all the tongue-in-cheek winks and nods, a juggernaut of stellar musicianship rumbles.

Primus began their long, strange journey more than 25 years ago. Along the way, they’ve released 10 studio albums, toured incessantly and staked a broad claim on the stylistic map of modern popular music. Their latest album, Primus and the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble, is a reimagining of the classic 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

The trippy film is steeped in the late-‘60s psychedelic world from which it sprang. The film’s soundtrack is almost cartoonish sugary pop music, but the Primus version recalls the darker sensibility from the 1964 book on which the film is based, according to visionary bassist Les Claypool.

“The recording is about my early perception of the original ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ film,” Claypool says. “The notion wasn’t so much to go in and redo the soundtrack note for note as much as it was to utilize the classic elements of the music yet try to reflect some of the darker undertones of the Roald Dahl books because when you read those books, there is an eerie and somewhat menacing aspect implied.”

Guitarist Larry LaLonde says the project started as a fairly simple idea.

Every New Year’s Eve, the band performs a special themed show in the San Francisco area. Claypool had long wanted to tackle some sacred cow from his childhood, and “Willy Wonka” seemed to fit perfectly in to the band’s aesthetic.

Once the decision was made to make this the theme for the band’s 2013 New Year’s show, LaLonde was struck by a frightening realization while watching the film.

“Just by chance it was playing in the park by my house a couple days later, and I was like ‘oh man, how are we going to pull this thing off?’ It’s pretty impossible when I listened to all the music. We started chipping away at it, getting it ready for the New Year’s show. By the time the show had come, we had put in so much work; we thought, ‘Maybe we should record this thing.’ We ended up recording it, and that kind of snowballed into it becoming a tour.”

The shows typically consist of two sets, with set one offering classic Primus tunes. The second set features a large stage set, and the band plays the Wonka album in its entirety.

The tour expands the band from its usual power trio lineup of bass, drums and guitar with two players from Claypool’s numerous side projects: Mike Dillon and Sam Bass, dubbed the Fungi Ensemble, add a wealth of new sounds.

“With the added ingredients of marimba, vibraphone, tabla and various strings, we were able to bring some depth to the sonic landscape and really shift the mood around,” Claypool says. “It gets dark and creepy yet maintains that notion of innocence.”

The band has long been associated with the so-called “jam band” scene that values improvisation above all else. It speaks to the diversity of that scene, since the Primus sound owes as much to Frank Zappa or metal as it does the Grateful Dead.

However, performing a composed set night after night might not be exactly what their fan base is clamoring for.

LaLonde says that is why the show is structured with a more traditional first set and an encore that often features the Fungi Ensemble. He also notes that while they stay pretty true to the Wonka songs, there are pockets of improvisation. Also, performing a complete album night after night offers a level of tightness that only comes with repetition.

“The more reps you get in on anything keeps, hopefully, getting bigger and better,” LaLonde says. “Other than that, it’s something we put together as a whole piece, so it doesn’t waver a ton. Some of the solo parts build up over time.”

Primus also finds themselves in a milestone year, as 2015 marks 25 years since the band’s debut album Suck on This was released.

“I’m always amazed when I’m talking to someone and am reminded of the math of what this thing has been,” LaLonde says. “It’s a weird thing. If I had a better memory, it might seem like longer.”

Primus will perform Tuesday, Aug. 4 at Rose Music Center, 6800 Executive Center in Huber Heights. Dinosaur Jr. and Ghosts of a Saber Tooth Tiger (with Sean Lennon) will also play. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $47 (plus fees) for general admission pit and $42 for reserved seating pavilion. For more information, please visit primusville.com.

Finger Eleven hits Oddbody’s Music Room

Photo: Finger Eleven will perform at Oddbody’s on July 24 in advance of their latest album, Five Crooked Lines; photo: Dustin Rabin

The terms “rock band” and “longevity” rarely go together.

Some bands aren’t successful enough; others collapse under the weight of too many expectations. Creative differences can fracture a group. Drugs, girls or personality clashes often spell demise no matter how much talent the individual members might have.

Hell, The Beatles barely made it a decade.

So, how does a Canadian band from just outside of Toronto stay together for more than 25 years?

It’s simple, according to Finger Eleven guitarist Rick Jackett.

“We’re real friends and we were real friends before the band started,” Jackett says. “We really enjoy each other’s company and the music we make together as a group. We don’t have a lot of the skeletons. I think you need to be like, kindred spirits. To make music, you have to kind of speak without speaking.”

The band started as little more than a couple of high school buddies that wanted to play rock music. They dubbed themselves Rainbow Butt Monkeys and entered a local talent show.

It wasn’t long before they won a radio contest, recorded an album and became stars on the Canadian scene.

“This is the first and only band we’ve ever been in,” Jackett says. “It’s the same band members, but with such a different philosophy and such a different mentality that we needed to change to be able to continue to grow.”

The band has released seven full-length albums, with most finding their way to the top of the Canadian charts. Their 2003 self-titled offering cracked the top 20 in the Great White North and spawned the single “One Thing,” which gave the group their first real opening in the States. It hit 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The band’s 2007 follow-up album Them vs. You vs. Me produced its highest charting single to date, the top-10 “Paralyzer,” and won the Juno (basically the Canadian version of the Grammys) for album of the year.

Jackett says breaking big in the U.S. was so different from the success in their native land. For one thing, Canada just doesn’t have as many places to tour. Three months on the road at home, and the band had virtually played every major metropolitan area.

However, the desire to perform well here was not purely logistically based.

“Growing up as huge music fans, a lot of our favorite bands came from the States,” Jackett says. “The whole idea of ever achieving the status of a gold record was just unfathomable. I thought I had a better chance to go to the moon.”

Finger Eleven’s latest long player, Five Crooked Lines, drops on July 31. It was produced by Dave Cobb, who has also worked with the likes of Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell. While that may seem like a strange combination on the surface, Jackett says the band was looking to expand their sound and try new things—and Cobb quickly became the logical choice.

“We knew we didn’t want to make a typical record,” Jackett says. “He knew how to get the best out of all of us. We were really hungry and we had such respect for his production style. It was a very harmonious experience.”

While the recording process took just two weeks, the band members spent the better part of four years writing and demoing. Jackett said they were trying to find the right mixture of fresh areas to explore and great songs.

One of those tracks is the sprawling seven-minute opus “Come On, Oblivion,” which Jackett cites as one of his early favorites. It is a moody and brooding cut, building slowly from a hypnotic bass line. A booming chorus breaks up the atmospheric and quasi-psychedelic swells of the verses.

He also cites “Not Going To Be Afraid” as among the best the band has ever written.

Many days have passed since they first got together in school. However, one thing remains the same: their passion and dedication to musical growth. Jackett says while people obviously grow and change with age, they’re still the same kids looking to get on stage and deliver a blistering set of heavy rock.

Fans that have yet to catch that live show can expect a balls-to-the-wall experience with a heavy focus on the music rather than vain, self-serving and ego-centric rock star worship.

“There’s just a real genuine enthusiasm that comes off stage,” Jackett says. “We really enjoy being on stage. What you won’t see is a bunch of pouty, spoiled, pretentious guys wasting your time.”

Finger Eleven will perform on Friday, July 24 at Oddbody’s Music Room 5418 Burkhardt Rd. Show starts at 7 p.m. Supporting acts include Brent James & the Vintage Youth, Violent Kind and Averous. Tickets are $17 in advance, and $30 day of show. For more information, please visit fingereleven.com.

Miyelo Music Festival debuts in Tipp City

By Tim Walker

Photo: Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Will Hoge will perform at the Miyelo Music Festival in Tipp City on July 18 photo: Rykodisc

Kelechukwu “Chu” Oparah, one of the organizers of Tipp City’s upcoming Miyelo Music Festival, couldn’t be happier or more excited. The festival is only a week away, and like so many on a mission, the longer you talk to him the more infectious his excitement becomes.

“This is a party with a purpose,” he tells Dayton City Paper. “We wanted to broaden our scope. We wanted this to be less a little ‘concert in the street,’ where people come and hang out for a few hours and drink a lot. Instead, we decided to turn this into a more family-friendly music festival where the whole family can come out, not just a few select people. We just wanted to broaden the scope. But in making it family-friendly we didn’t have to sacrifice the quality of music at all … quite the opposite. We have a slate of performers that we’re really, really proud of.”

As stated in the Miyelo Mission Statement, “The music we listen to is a mix of rock, country and Midwest folk, a unique blend of music we like to call Americana.”

After a brief pause Oparah continues, “These are not upstarts by any means … people who are just thinking about being musicians. These are full-time professional musicians who are playing the festival, and they all agree with the mission of doing something positive for people who are suffering.”

The Miyelo Music Festival, which will be held in Tipp City on July 18, is a festival with a purpose. In addition to bringing nationally-known touring acts such as Will Hoge, Jonathan Jackson + Enation and The Donnie Reis Band to town for the event, the day-long festival will also be raising money and spreading the word about local service organization the Pink Ribbon Girls.

“The Pink Ribbon Girls see to the practical needs of families going through breast cancer treatment … the patients who are going through treatment for this terrible disease,” Oparah says. They have an office right here in Tipp City for the Dayton region, and the executive director of that organization, Heather Salazar, is a close family friend and has been for a long time. They have fundraisers here and there throughout the year, and they always accept donations to help finance the organization, but we wanted to do something different. We thought, ‘Let’s dream big. What is the coolest thing that we can do to help, using the relationships we’ve built over the last decade in the industry?’”

The music at the festival, which was organized by Trebius Promotions along with TWELVE3South Studios, begins at 11:30 a.m. on July 18. The 11 hours of music, on three separate stages, promise acts that will please music lovers of all types. Will Hoge is a Grammy-nominated country singer and songwriter from Nashville who has released nine albums of country music, the first back in 1997. Jonathan Jackson + Enation is an indie rock band that just released a fourth album. Jackson is featured on the ABC show “Nashville,” and the song “Ride,” from the band’s 2004 album Identity Theft, was used as the theme song for “Riding the Bullet,” a film starring Jackson and based on the Stephen King novella. Kris Allen is the winner of “American Idol” season eight, and is a platinum-selling recording artist. Donnie Reis is a multi-instrumentalist and an accomplished composer, the chief producer for TWELVE3South, and a U.S. Army veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rounding out the lineup of over 20 performers are acts such as Neulore, Erick Baker, Brandon Chase and Ben Bradford.

But what exactly does “Miyelo” mean?

“Well,” Oparah says. “It’s a Lakota word.”

I then ask Oparah if is he is a Native.

“I’m native to somewhere,” he laughs. “But no, I’m not a Native American. But the Lakota lived here. Pronounced ‘my-EL-oh,’ the word loosely translates to ‘I am’ in the language of the Lakota. Miyelo is a statement of confidence, something that all ventures require as the price of admission. We took it as a statement of affirmation, of possibilities being endless.”

The Miyelo Music Festival will be held on Saturday, July 18 in Tipp City. Music starts at 11:30 a.m. To purchase tickets or view a schedule of the performers and for other information, please visit miyelomusicfest.com.

Columbus’ The Receiver at Blind Bob’s

By Gary Spencer

Photo: Casey and Jesse Cooper, known as The Receiver, will perform July 11 at Blind Bob’s

To paraphrase a line from ’70s TV sitcom “The Partridge Family,” the family that plays together, stays together. And that seems to ring true for Columbus, Ohio, brothers Jesse and Casey Cooper, who play music under the name The Receiver.

“We grew up playing music,” Casey says. “Our mother started us both on piano at an early age, around 5 or so, and naturally that expanded to other instruments. Jesse began playing percussion and drums, and I moved on to trumpet all through high school.”

Several years later, those seeds gave birth to The Receiver, in which Casey handles lead vocals, bass guitar and keyboards and Jesse tackles drums and backing vocals.

“I began writing songs in college for an electronic project, and after I graduated in 2004, Jesse and I expanded on them,” Casey says. “We added bass guitar and drums, along with developing the songs a bit more to make them more appropriate for the live performance setting. We played our first show in the summer of 2005, and we’ve been at it ever since.”

In 2006, the duo released their debut album, Decades, a record filled with swirling synths with a shoegaze feel but tempered with straightforward vocals and melodies. The overall effect takes the listener on a smooth, airy ride that’s at the same time infectious, appealing and adventurous.

“The best way to describe it, I think, is ‘dreamy, progressive pop,’” Casey suggests. “We’ve been labeled dream-pop, as well as dream-prog. But I think it’s a combination of the two. Some big inspirations for us would be Mew, Blonde Redhead, Air, Pink Floyd and Radiohead. Our music tends to be dreamy, sort of a head-in-the-clouds aesthetic, very layered in synth textures. But we also incorporate bits of progressive elements, such as unique time signatures, atypical song structures, tone clusters in harmony and a lot of interacting melodies.”

The band continues this trend with magnificent results on their fourth full-length album, All Burn, released by U.K. label Kscope just last month. The band considers the release of this album a major milestone in its history—not bad for a band from little ol’ Ohio.

“Our recent signing with Kscope is, in my mind, our biggest milestone yet,” Casey continues. “They are based in London, and they’re great at what they do as a label. It’s gratifying to know that a talented and hard working label respects what we do enough to release it. So I’m very excited about this new relationship with them.”

According to the band, All Burn is more than just an aesthetic experience—it carries a universal message.

“The album, lyrically speaking, is all about the different peaks and valleys in relationships,” Casey explains. “The songs express the highs, lows and aftermath of a relationship breakdown. It also wrestles with the idea of repairing the damage or just abandoning the relationship and moving on. It’s content that most everyone can relate with.”

From Ohio to London and back again, The Receiver is ready to show audiences here and abroad what the band is all about in live performances. So what should concertgoers expect from The Receiver in the flesh?

“Our live show is somewhat more focused and punctual compared to our studio recordings,” Jesse says. “It’s a bit more stripped on stage since there are only two of us”.

And The Receiver is no stranger to performing onstage in the Gem City. In fact, they love it.

“We’ve been playing Dayton as long as we’ve been a band,” Jesse says. “We started with The Pearl, then The Nite Owl, which is now Blind Bob’s. We always love playing Dayton. People here love their live music, and the shows are always well attended. It honestly feels like a second home for us.”

As for the future of the band, The Receiver plans on touring and spreading the word about their newest efforts, and making it available to anyone who wants a piece of their live experience.

“We are extremely proud of our new album, and we want people to hear it,” Casey says. “It’s dreamy, melodic, textured and a nice 40-minute escape. Our live show will provide these elements, but with a bit more energy and urgency. And if the fans and listeners want to take it home with them, we have it available on 180g vinyl as well as CD.”

The Receiver will perform Saturday, July 11 at Blind Bob’s, 430 E. Fifth St. Bonesetters, Big Time Pharaohs and Ken’s Motorbike are also on the bill. Show starts at 9 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door for patrons 21 and older. For more information, please visit thereceivermusic.com or facebook.com/thereceiver.

Sea Cycles bring cinematic, atmospheric rock to Bob’s

Jacksonville, Florida’s Sea Cycles create picturesque music that is elaborate and ornate; their goal is to create an atmosphere or feeling that stays in the mind’s eye in vivid color. Formed in late 2011, the band began releasing their brand of ambient synth pop via their self-released debut EP What We Came For.

The band released their full-length debut Ground & Air via the Los Angeles, California-based independent label Other People Records on June 9. Drawing positive comparisons to indie favorites such as Broken Social Scene, Yeasayer and M83, Sea Cycles appear to be less a drop in the ocean of indie rock and more a phenomenon that could permanently alter that environment.

Dayton City Paper recently spoke with drummer Josh Wessolowski about their place in the Jacksonville scene, creative process and the new record.

Are you originally from Jacksonville or a transplant? How does Sea Cycles fit into the musical scene there?

Josh Wessolowski: We’re all transplants. I grew up in Wisconsin, Lindsey [Shante] is originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and Landon [Paul] and Brian [Squillace] both grew up in North Carolina. Sea Cycles fits well with the local scene in Jacksonville. It’s a pretty tight knit group of musicians drawing inspiration from one another. In the last five years, you can tell that the music scene has grown exponentially. Jacksonville has also seen a lot of growth in the local business and art communities.

You began playing together in 2011. What are the predominant lessons you’ve learned about each other musically over the course of Sea Cycles’ time together?

JW: We’ve really had a chance to grow together as musicians, and each member brings a unique style to the band. We’re all a little different from one another, musically, but those differences shape the sound in a great way. Four years seems like forever as a band, and you learn a lot about each other, not just as musicians but as people. Nobody is bigger than the group, and we all know that each member plays an important role in the success of this band.

When did you begin writing Ground & Air?

JW: It was the summer of 2013. I remember having a conversation with Brian before that, in which we discussed recording an album piece by piece with every song written in the studio, and taking our time, with no predetermined structure. He had just moved into a new house, and we wanted to use the space in a way where we could have instruments set up at all times. I would go in and just play on a track for a couple hours and at the end of the day, if we liked it, we kept it. All of the songs usually start with a melody or a loop-based melody.

It was a liberating experience, but the next album will evolve first in a practice setting where the songs can grow and change before we go in a record them. Every song on Ground & Air changed a handful of times before we actually had a finished product.

Were you consciously trying to create such a cinematic and atmospheric record?

JW: It was the band’s goal from the beginning to create an encompassing mood for the record. We think of it as a photo or a painting. When you look at a photo or a painting you might not understand it, but it makes you feel a certain way and maybe takes you somewhere else. That has always been a huge aspect in our songwriting. We’re inspired by the same kind of music, so if we can make people feel something our goal has been reached.

What are some records or bands that you find are touchstones for Sea Cycles, and more specifically for you, as you create?

JW: I’ve always listened to a lot of jazz. Coming from a long line of drummers it was kind of impossible not to stumble upon it. When I write music, I think in terms of color. Fitting colors together and sometimes juxtaposing them so much that the end result is something you couldn’t imagine. I love to improvise and see what comes from it in the end.

Under what circumstances did you begin working with Other People Records and do you believe their involvement is helping you to reach new audiences?

JW: We used to rehearse above a bar in downtown Jacksonville called the Phoenix Taproom. One night after we finished a song we walked into the hall for a break and Jesse Barnett of the band Stick To Your Guns was standing there asking us for a CD. We didn’t realize it, but at the time he was getting ready to play a show, which says a lot about a person. He took time out of his night to talk to us and tell us he was thinking of starting a label. He could’ve just walked downstairs. He could’ve said nothing.

That was the night that our future as a band changed. The involvement of Other People Records has done so much for the band it’s hard to sum it up in one paragraph. We are forever grateful for that fortuitous meeting.

What are your foremost immediate goals for the band? What are your loftiest goals for the future?

JW: Touring is priority for us right now, and not just in North America. Experiencing tour life and learning how to do that is going to be fun and very interesting. Our loftiest goal is to sustain life solely as musicians. We all have bills and we work to pay them, but it would be serendipitous to be able to accomplish that as musicians.

Sea Cycles perform on Saturday, July 4 at Blind Bob’s, 430 E. Fifth St. The performance is open to audiences 18+. Narrow/Arrow will also perform. For more information, please visit seacycles.net.

Tim Anderl is the web editor and a contributing writer at Ghettoblaster Magazine and maintains his own music blog at youindie.com. Reach DCP freelance writer Tim Anderl at TimAnderl@DaytonCityPaper.com.

Vancouver’s Hawking deliver enigmatic post-indie rock

By Tim Anderl

Photo: Vancouver will perform at South Park Tavern June 26

Vancouver-based progressive indie rock band Hawking is an enigmatic and sophisticated band that admittedly still struggles to find its “scene.” Too musically academic for punk rock, but a little too punk for indie sets, the band crafts atmospheric guitar rock that is just different enough to distinguish it from any crowd, but familiar enough to satisfy a variety of audiences.

The band recently hit the road for its first North American tour in support of its upcoming self-titled EP, out July 14. The two-month tour takes the band across six provinces and 14 states including Ohio to promote the release.

Dayton City Paper recently caught up with lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Tom Vanderkan about the band’s Vancouver home, fitting into a scene, a devastating car accident and a new EP.

Are you guys originally from Vancouver?

Tom Vanderkan: Three-quarters of us are from the Vancouver area. Our guitar player is from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan though, which for those of you who are unfamiliar is out in the middle of nowhere. It’s basically the Canadian version of Moorhead, Minnesota, or something.

How does Hawking fit into or reflect the music scene in Vancouver?

TV: Vancouver has a weird music scene for sure. As far as underground stuff, hardcore and math rock are gaining momentum lately, which I dig because I’ve always loved those scenes. As far as mainstream stuff goes, I think indie rock and folky, Mumford-ey stuff is still biggest. We don’t really fit into any of those scenes though—we’re too punk for indie and too indie for punk; we’re too math for everything, but not math enough for math rock. Our struggle has been finding a community we identify with. I think that’s why we love being on the road so much, because in each city there’s at least one or two other bands who we click with and who share our identity crisis.

You’ll be spending two months on the road during this North American tour. Did you ever worry that this amount of time would be too long?

TV: Totally. We all like having our proverbial nests and this is the longest tour we’ve done yet. Being on the road is awesome though, and we love it. We’re already like three or four weeks in and it still feels like we only left a few days ago, so I don’t think it’ll be an issue. Homesickness is definitely a thing though. You’ve got to call home as much as you can. Family is important, kids!

During a previous tour of Western Canada, you were involved in a car accident. What was the recovery process from that like?

TV: It was a brutal wreck. If you look at the photos from the scene, we should all be dead. It’s heavy. Most of us had the usual—fractures, breaks, concussions, puncture wounds, burns, as the engine came through the dashboard and those things get hot—so we took a few weeks to a few months to recover.

Our drummer, Chartwell [Kerr], was injured the worst. He’s still got screws holding his feet and legs together, and more metal plates than anyone would prefer to have present in their body. He’s got a few surgeries ahead of him still, so his recovery is far from over.

Our old bass player, Paul [Engels], got it the worst mentally though. The guy was in a coma for five weeks after the accident and is still enduring the long journey back to normal. He wasn’t able to continue with the band. He’s doing a lot better now though from what I can tell. But yeah, overall we’re just happy to be able to move on from that and keep touring as strong as ever.

In July you’ll be releasing a new EP. When did you write and record that?

TV: Correct! July 14 our EP comes out. The whole process took around nine months. I think I started writing lyrics for the record while we were on tour last summer and it all went from there.

What benchmarks did the band reach during the development of the EP that were firsts for the band?

TV: I think this is the first time we’ve ever felt truly confident that we’re putting out a cohesive set of recordings. We always have to release music in small bursts because we’re constantly changing sonic elements and whatnot, but we’ve really started to settle into our own niche here. It’s about damn time, we think.

Will this be your first trip to Dayton? Are you familiar at all with our city?

TV: We’ve never been to Dayton before, or the Midwest at all, for that matter. We’re mostly excited to play in and around the birthplaces of so many American indie and emo bands who’ve influenced us and who we look up to.

Also, the anarchist skate-punk haven that is Skatopia is only a two- or three-hour detour from our route, so I think some harsh gnar-shredding will need to ensue.

What is next for the band?

TV: We’ve still got a bunch more content coming down the pipeline. Lots of videos. Once this tour’s over, we’ll be doing more travelling to play some one-offs and festivals here and there, and be at home for a bit to do some local shows and spread the word about the new EP. We’ll likely proceed to hunker down and make another record during the fall and winter, emerging in the spring as usual from the depths of the basement to tour more and continue our adventures.

Hawking will perform Friday, June 26 at South Park Tavern, 1301 Wayne Ave. in Dayton. The show begins at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door for patrons 18 and up. The Zygotes and Good Luck Year will also perform. For more information, please visit hawkingband.com.

Tim Anderl is the web editor and a contributing writer at Ghettoblaster Magazine and maintains his own music blog at youindie.com. Reach DCP freelance writer Tim Anderl at TimAnderl@DaytonCityPaper.com.

Thirty years later, Green Jellÿ still suxx

By Gary Spencer

Photo: Green Jellÿ has developed a cult following for its outrageous live performances; photo: Melina Dellamarggio

Most musicians don’t set out to suck. But most musicians aren’t Bill Manspeaker, founding member of comedy rock band Green Jellÿ (pronounced “Jello”; the band was originally named Green Jellö, but changed its name as the result of a legal battle with the Kraft food trademark of the same name) best known for the 1993 MTV one-hit wonder “Three Little Pigs.” His goal was to put together the worst band in the world.

While he was a senior in a Buffalo, New York high school in the early 1980s, he got the inspiration to form a band with his friends.

“My goal was to have the crappiest band in the world,” Manspeaker says. “We didn’t know how to play any instruments, so I came up with this brilliant plan that we would make up our own songs—that way no one would know if we messed them up, and we’d wear costumes and let people throw food at us and tell us we suck to distract them from how bad the music was.”

After playing around the Buffalo area for a few years (including an impromptu gig outside his high school cafeteria on the day they were serving—you guessed it—green Jell-O), Manspeaker got another grand idea: getting the group “gonged” on the nationally syndicated TV program The Gong Show to prove that it was the worst band in the world.

But his car blew up on the way to the audition, and Manspeaker found himself stranded on the West Coast. He took a job at Tower Records and began gigging around Hollywood. A few years later, a chance meeting with a former coworker who was now working for a record label got Manspeaker an appointment with the company’s president.

“All of a sudden I had the [Zoo Entertainment] president’s attention and I tell him ‘I’ve got this band called Green Jellö, I dress up like a cow, people throw food at us and tell us we suck!’” Manspeaker remembers. “The president then asks me, ‘How much funding do you need for your project?’ I randomly blurted out, ‘$60,000!’. We got a record contract without anyone at the record company ever seeing or hearing the band, solely based on my story.”

Manspeaker took the advance and bought video cameras, lights and props and began to work on what would become an hour-long video featuring costumes, animation and songs from his self-proclaimed World’s Worst Band. Despite failing to impress record company executives with the end result, the company printed a mere 100 copies to send out to radio stations. What happened next was uncanny.

“A blind DJ in Seattle put in the tape and the first song was ‘Three Little Pigs,’” Manspeaker remembers. “He said it was the worst song he’d ever heard and he played it on his show as a joke. But then he started getting requests for it. The record got picked up and sold 10,000 copies in one weekend.”

The radio success of “Three Little Pigs” led to the release of Green Jellö’s major label debut album, Cereal Killer, in 1993, which soon gave way to heavy rotation of the song’s video on MTV. The campy, primitive and cartoonesque “Three Little Pigs” video captured the imaginations of young viewers and the album would eventually go on to sell over two million copies. The band, armed with its costumes, props, puppets and gags were now a household name. But soon the demands of maintaining a touring band and pressures from record label executives would take a toll on Manspeaker.

“I was touring with 15 people and had a tour bus that cost $1,000 a day,” Manspeaker says. “I had an overhead of $20,000 just for the band. All of a sudden I had all kinds of drama stifling my creativity and everyone wanting a slice of the pie.”

Soon thereafter Manspeaker put an unofficial halt on the group to produce videos for the likes of Kiss, Marilyn Manson and Nickelodeon. In 2008, his then 13-year-old son suggested he resurrect the band and start touring again. Manspeaker set up a Facebook account and began amassing an army of musicians all over the country to perform as Green Jellÿ with him when he came to their towns. Seven years later, Manspeaker and his son fly out of Hollywood every weekend to perform for nostalgic and enthusiastic crowds all over the country.

“I have 630 band members,” Manspeaker says. “I have a Green Jellÿ band in every state across the U.S. as well as Canada and Mexico. My son and I hop on a plane to wherever it is we’re going and the band picks us up at the airport and we’ll play three shows that weekend with that local band of musicians, and on Sunday we fly back home. They get to wear the costumes and run around and have a great time.”

As far as Green Jellÿ’s upcoming live performance in Dayton, expect the band in full costumed regalia along pigs, puppets, messy food and general chaos.

“Expect a fun time—let the show take over and entertain you,” Manspeaker says. “It’s a punk rock puppet show. We’re all gonna sing the songs, bring people on the stage, mosh in a circle and have a story time while everyone sits on the beer soaked floor. And after their naps we’re gonna crank up the music and everyone’s gonna jump around and mosh some more!”

Green Jellÿ will perform Thursday, June 18 at Rockstar Pro Arena, 1106 E. Third Street in Dayton. Bearer of Bad News, Duderus and Abertooth Lincoln are also on the bill. Tickets for the all ages show are $10 in advance. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, please visit greenjellosuxx.com.

DAYTON NATIVE AND AXEMAN JEFF YOUNG RETURNS HOME

By Allyson B. Crawford

Photo: Jeff Young and Sherri Klein began performing together over a year and a half ago

Most musicians that play Oddbody’s are just passing through town. Not guitarist Jeff Young, who will play Oddbody’s with his fiancée and music partner Sherri Klein—billed as Jeff and Sherri—Friday, June 12. Young graduated in 1980 from Fairmont (then Fairmont West) in Kettering. He had enough credits to finish the school year early to focus on his music. By his senior year, he was already traveling and playing gigs. By 1985, he had earned a degree from Musicians Institute in California. By 1988, he was a member of Megadeth. You can hear his guitar work on So Far, So Good So What!

Still, Young says his goal wasn’t to play metal in particular. He’s just a fan of music, period. And he wants to bring people together through his craft. So his show with Klein isn’t metal-heavy, but unique and diverse.

Young and Klein live in Las Vegas. Over a year and a half ago, the pair began performing and just recently decided to take their show on the road. The Dayton Oddbody’s gig is the first stop on their tour.

“We do Led Zeppelin… Sherri does a great version of ’Whole Lotta Love,’” Young says of his show with Sherri. “We do everything from rock to funk. We do Prince, The Ohio Players… I really love funk. I don’t know if it’s because of growing up in Dayton or what. They’ve been a great influence. We try to mix everything with a funky element.”

While Young considers himself a musician first, he’s also a businessman.

“This tour is very DIY,” he explains. That’s because fees associated with professional managers and talent bookers eat too much profit.

“We looked for markets where I’m familiar and where I’ve played,” he continues. “So Dayton, Indianapolis… We have lots of buddies around the area. So we’ll stay with friends in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and New Jersey.”

It’s hard for new acts, even those featuring established musicians, to gain a following on the road. Young and Kline perform both cover tunes and originals.

“Since it’s our first tour, we don’t want to inundate people with songs they don’t know, so we sprinkle some originals in,” Young tells the Dayton City Paper. “We try to take a song and not just cover and do it like the original artist. We try to reimagine it.”

One of the songs Young and Klein reimagine is the Beatles classic “Something,” which features Young playing guitar parts in a style more like Jimi Hendrix and less like writer George Harrison. Klein sings the lead. Then there’s the mashup of Ozzy Osbourne and The Cure, which Young calls “Ozzy’s Cure.” The song is really a mix of “Diary of a Madman” from Osbourne and “Lovesong” from The Cure. The idea for the two-song cover came out of a gig Young and Klein did as part of the Randy Rhoads Remembered Tour. Rhoads was the original guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne. He was killed in a plane accident in 1982.

“I am a huge Randy Rhoads fan,” Young admits. The cover is a way to pay tribute to one his musical heroes.

When Young isn’t writing new songs or reworking old favorites, he’s working on his radio show.

“I’ve been building a pretty nice cult following with my radio shows that I’ve been doing most Thursdays for three years now. It’s called “Music Without Boundaries,” Young says. “We play every genre, from the 1920s to the 2000s. It’s all merged together with topical discussion or funny movie clips or interviews from artists. I don’t subscribe to putting music into boxes.”

Young’s been traveling the world since his early 20s. On all of his travels, he makes it a priority to stop in local music shops to discover the hottest talent from each region or particular corner of the globe he’s in at the time. With an immense vinyl and CD collection to cull through, Young plays his favorite discoveries on his weekly show.

“The mission of my show is to share different types of music… to those who would never have been exposed through the American music machine,” he says.

Some of the past guests on Young’s show include Pat Travers, John 5 (also known as Rob Zombie) and Lauren Harris.

“I’m excited to come back to Dayton,” Young concludes. “I bet I’ll see people I haven’t seen since high school. It might be emotional.”

In the end, Young says that music should be fun. That’s really the end goal: to make people happy.

“You gotta get people dancing,” he says. “There’s enough angst in the world. Music should be fun and be good vibrations.”

Jeff Young and Sherri Klein will perform Friday June 12 at Oddbody’s Music Room, 5418 Burkhardt Rd. in Dayton. The show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door or $5 in advance for patrons 18 and up. For more information, please visit oddbodys.com or reverbnation.com/jeffnsherri.

Allyson B. Crawford lives in Springboro and writes about ’80s metal bands on her daily blog bringbackglam.com. You can usually find her at all sorts of metal shows around Ohio and across the country. Allyson can be reached at AllysonCrawford@DaytonCityPaper.com.

DPO, Jeans ‘n Classics tackle Rubber Soul, Revolver

By Tim Anderl

Photo: Jeans ‘n Classics vocalists Leah Salomaa [left] and Kathryn Rose [right] will perform the music of Rubber Soul and Revolver the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra on May 30

In the lexicon of rock and roll history, Rubber Soul and Revolver, the sixth and seventh Beatles albums respectively, are recognized as brilliant artistic achievements. They are recognized as such because they spotlighted the group’s developing musical vision. While Rubber Soul presented a more refined, acoustic side, Revolver was more robust and electric than previous releases and demonstrated the savvy of the band in the studio.

On May 30, London-based rock ensemble Jeans ‘n Classics, who are celebrating their 20th season, joins the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Neal Gittleman, for the performance of these two influential Beatles albums.

“These two albums were so important because they were the bridge albums between a straight ahead kind of pop band and then the ultimate, super-creative concept album band,” Jeans ‘n Classics founder Peter Brennan says. “You see these guys go from being a pop band to being the iconic band that they became.”

Rubber Soul, released Dec. 3, 1965, was one of the first albums the group recorded during a continuous period, without the burden of tour dates or other projects. It saw the band drawing influences from soul, the folk rock of The Byrds and Bob Dylan and the harmonies of The Beach Boys. Rubber Soul is widely considered one of the greatest albums in popular music history—and for good reason. The album’s lyrics marked a maturity and sophistication that the quartet hadn’t before reached in their simpler boy-girl love songs. In fact, it was ranked number five on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” in 2012.

Revolver preceded the release of the band’s seminal Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, hitting shelves and airwaves Aug. 5, 1966. The album, widely recognized for revolutionizing and redefining the parameters of popular music, marked the beginning of the band’s psychedelic period and ushered in a radical new phase in the band’s career. Revolver’s U.S. release coincided with the band’s final U.S. tour and John Lennon’s controversial statements that they’d become “bigger than Jesus.” Further, Revolver marks the midpoint in the band’s recording career, between the period dominated by Lennon and the period dominated by Paul McCartney, who would provide the group’s artistic direction for almost every post-Revolver project. It was ranked third on Rolling Stone’s list.

According to Brennan, the sound of a rock band or pop music group performing with an orchestra has always been one of his soft spots.

“Any time I heard an orchestra with a rock band or a pop band, I always really liked the sound,” he says. “I’m not sure what was appealing to me, but certainly that whole era of the Moody Blues and the electric orchestra and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Disco days had terrific use of orchestra like great brass sections and cool string stuff. I suppose it was channeling back into what Motown had tried to present. When we got Jeans ‘n Classics going we examined all of these eras and areas of music and styles. You know you realize not a lot was done, for the most part. But where it was used, it was wonderful. I always just really, really dug that: the integration of the two worlds, if you will.”

Featuring Neil Donell and David Blamires on lead vocals, two female backup vocalists and six instrumental musicians, Jeans ‘n Classics will perform alongside the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra for two sets. Set one is comprised of Rubber Soul classics like “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” “Norwegian Wood,” “You Won’t See Me,” “Think for Yourself,” “The Word,” “Michelle,” “It’s Only Love,” “Girl,” “I’m Looking Through You,” “In My Life,” “Wait,” “Run for Your Life,” “Drive My Car” and “Nowhere Man.” Set two, the Revolver set, includes “Taxman,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Love You To,” “Here There and Everywhere,” “Yellow Submarine,” “She Said She Said,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “For No One,” “I Want to Tell You,” “Got to Get You Into My Life” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.”

Brennan says performances like these aren’t just a thrill for his rock and roll peers, but also for members of the orchestra.

“I think we find players that have grown up with their heads in many, many different worlds,” he says. “They’re thrilled to bits when they get to play [John Christopher] Moller, but they’re thrilled when they get to play Led Zeppelin or, even for that matter, John Williams. It’s all music, material and challenges that they’ve grown up with and appreciate, as opposed to maybe way, way back when you had someone that said, ‘I’m trained to do this and I’m only going to do this.’”

The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Jeans ‘n Classics will perform Rubber Soul and Revolver: Back to Back, Saturday, May 30, at the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, 1 W. Second St. Show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $29, $40, $55, $66 or $81. Students receive a $2 discount on all price tiers. For more information, please visit jeansnclassics.com or daytonperformingarts.org or call 937.228.3630.

Tim Anderl is the web editor and a contributing writer at Ghettoblaster Magazine and maintains his own music blog at youindie.com. Reach DCP freelance writer Tim Anderl at TimAnderl@DaytonCityPaper.com.

]]>http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/the-repeatles/feed/0Wherever you may gnomehttp://www.daytoncitypaper.com/wherever-you-may-gnome/
http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/wherever-you-may-gnome/#commentsTue, 19 May 2015 14:00:33 +0000http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/?p=29291

Atmospheric rock duo hits Blind Bob’s

By Josher Lumpkin

Photo: Sam Meister and Nicole Barille of mr. Gnome will perform May 22 at Blind Bob’s

Nicole Barille and Sam Meister make a cool couple. The two halves of rock duo mr. Gnome, they spent their 2005 honeymoon in Cleveland, the city they call home, writing and recording their first demo. Ten years later, mr. Gnome’s brand of atmospheric psychedelic art rock hasn’t gone unnoticed—they’ve received positive press from Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club and NPR, to name a few. With its elaborate soundscapes, cinematic music videos and album art that looks like it came right out of the Dungeons & Dragons “Player’s Handbook,” mr. Gnome is at once something unusual and familiar.

Mr. Gnome will play at Blind Bob’s this Friday, May 22. Nicole Barille spoke to me over the phone from Washington, where the band was in between shows.

You guys are on the road for about six weeks. On such a long tour like that, how do you maintain normalcy?

Nicole Barille: I think we’ve been touring for so long that we’ve made all the mistakes. It’s like training for a marathon, you have to treat your body right and not overdo it or else you’re just going to really wear out midway through. So you know, we became vegetarians pretty much because of touring. We were like eating mystery meat all over the country. Sam, he loves gas station hot dogs. That was one of his weaknesses. So we cut that out, and it really makes you feel better without the bad food intake. But yeah, that’s one thing that we do. And, honestly, we don’t really party as much as we used to. We’d rather be good every night than hungover. I think we realized that was a lot more important. We’re putting all this time and effort into things, so we try to be our best.

Obviously you tour as a two-piece. How do you keep that big sound that your albums have when you take your songs to the stage?

NB: Well, um, it’s really just been a learning process up there. We started in 2005, though we always tell people the first couple of years didn’t count. It was like the first time we were in a band, playing on stage. Like the beginning was just a learning experience. After that, we realized that touring a lot was really the way to grow and become better musicians and just develop our sound into something a little more. And through doing that, you just start to pick up little tips. I got turned on to loop pedals and octave pedals. You just start adding more to your arsenal, adding pedals that up different parts of songs to give them a little more texture, and you’re able to make the songs a little more exciting throughout. At the same time, our ears are always open, and we’re always trying to pick up more things on the way and just expand what we are doing.

You recorded your latest album, The Heart of a Dark Star, yourselves. Do you think you’ll do that from now on with your releases?

NB: I think it has its pros and cons. It gives you complete control, and there is no time restriction. I think that anyone that’s been in the studio just experiences the clock ticking down, and then all of that pressure to get all your takes right away and all that. And you just can’t experiment as much, and you kind of have to map everything out before you go in there. And then the cons are that you have to work – I mean you’re just working 24/7, you have to set up all the mics, get all the songs, you know. It’s so much more work, but, yeah, if you’re willing to do it. I think we’re gonna give it another step for the next one. I’m pretty excited about it. I feel like we learned a lot on the last one. But yeah, we’re excited to do it again this way and add a little bit more to our studio and see what we can do.

Your fans love your crazy videos. Any plans for a new one soon? It’s been a couple years since the last one.

NB: Yeah we have a video that is done for “Melted Rainbow.” Our publicist is still spending some time with it to figure out which outlet he wants to release it through. So yes, it’s all done, just kind of waiting on it, so it should be out this month.

You guys have played Dayton a bunch of times. Are you looking forward to the upcoming show?

NB: Yeah, we love Dayton so much, and the last show, I lost my voice for it. I was just so sick when we came through. It happened suddenly, and I was sick for that show and Chicago the following day. I was just so bummed out because we love Dayton. It’s such a good crowd, and Blind Bob’s is so much fun. It’s just, like, kind of like a house party vibe. So yeah, I’m excited to be back. I’m going to take care of myself, and, hopefully, I won’t get sick around that time again. The road’s a strange place. You can feel fine and all of the sudden… especially during the winter time, it can take the voice away, and that’s a constant worry of being a singer. No matter how well you treat your body, sometimes you’re just exhausted. But yeah, we’re excited to come back and just be healthy and have fun with you guys.

Mr. Gnome will perform on Friday, May 22, at Blind Bob’s, 430 E. Fifth St. Show starts at 9 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m. Admission is $10 for patrons 21 and up. Grenades!! and Skurt are also on the bill. For more information, please visit mrgnome.com or call 937.938.6405.